Base-ball-game board.



B. F. DENGLER. BASE BALL GAME BOARD. APPLICATION FILED APR. 21, 1913.

BENJAMIN F. DENGLER, 015 LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

BASE-BALL-GAME BOARD.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 14:, rare.

Application filed April 21, 1913. Serial No. 762,726.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN F. DENG- LER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful Base-Ball-Game Board, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a game board apparatus provided with means whereby the operations of pitching and batting the ball may be carried out on a small scale suitable for indoor play and in which the plays may be counted as base runs and maybe deter mined according to the manner in which the ball is batted, so as to simulate as far as possible, the plays which actually take place when the ball is batted to a certain part of the field.

Another object of the invention is to provide a base ball game board in which the count or value of the plays is determined by skill on the part of the batter rather than by mere chance.

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter. I

The accompanying drawings illustrate an embodiment of the invention, and referring thereto:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the board. Fig. 2 is a partial section, on linew -w Fig. 1, of the portion of the board near the home plate. Fig. 3 is a section on line a2 00 in Fig. 1.

The apparatus comprises a flat board or platform 1, having a fence or boundary wall 2 extending around the same and projecting above the board to form an obstruction for the ball to keep it from going out of bounds. This board or platform is provided with a rectangular portion or field 2 representing the baseball field and with a forward extension 3 from said field terminating in a depressed portion 4. The rear walls 1 for the field portion of the board are placed obliquely to the longitudinal axis of the board and the front boundaries of the field are parallel to the rear boundaries, forming a square, set obliquely to the axis of the board. Said front boundaries are marked by boundary strips 6 which extend i from the side walls of the board forwardly and inwardly. Obstruoting strips 8 extend across the field transversely to the longitudinal axis of the board and other obstructing strlps 9 extend across the strips 8 and parallel to the oblique sides of the field, said crosslng strips 8 and 9 forming a net work, so that the field is divided by said strips into a large number of pockets or depressions 11 adapted to receive the ball when it is batted and to bring the ball to rest in definite positions. Marks 10 are provided on said strips or on the field portion of the board to indicate certain zones or areas within which the ball may land or come to rest, the runs or plays being counted or determined with reference to such zones or areas. An area 12 at the front of the field is left clear or free from the obstructing strips 8 and 9, the pitchers box 13 and home plate 14 being located within this area,the home plate being at the front corner of the field portion of the board and being preferably on an inclined upper face of a block 16 on the board. Bases marked 1, 2 and 3 are also provided in the field, the said bases, pitchers box 13 and home plate being indicated by suitably marking the surfaces at these points. Adjacent to the first and third bases, pockets 15 are formed by strips 15 on the board, delineating areas within which the field ball. is assumed to be within reach of the baseman. At the front end of the field, means are provided for movably supporting a bat. For this purpose channels 17 are formed in the board 1 extending rearwardly from the depression 4 and metallic plates 18 are secured on said board, adjacent said channels and extending over the channels, and slotted as at 19 to form guideways and bearing supports for a pedestal or post 21, which is provided near its lower end with an annular groove 22 adapted to engage the said plates the home plate. Said guideways are provided at each side of the home plate for use with the right or left hand respectively.

In the depression A at the forward end of the board, means may be provided for facilitating tallying or keeping score of the game, said board being provided, for example, with two series of holes 25 adapted to receive counter pins 26. Two series of holes 28 may also be provided in the board for receiving pins to score or count the number of outs for either side.

Any suitable number of counters 30 in the form of checks or having any fanciful form,

for example, images of ball players, may be used in connection with this board to represent the players for each side. It will be understood, however, that the game is not limited to any given number of players so long as there is an equal number on each side.

The board is provided with marks or instructions 33 indicating the significance or effect of a ball landing in any one of the zones or areas delimited by the crossing strips 8 and 9 aforesaid, these instructions being, for example, impressed on the strips 9 so that each zone or area contains the instructions corresponding thereto and indicating the effect on the batter or a runner of the side which is in due to landing of a ball in that zone, the instructions being preferably such that the effect on the batter and man on base conforms to the general or average effect of the ball being batted to that portion of the field, having regard to the average chance of the ball being caught by a baseman or fielder. In addition to such instruction; a set of rules may be furnished with the game board, for example: This game is played by two or more persons, one side opposing the other,'

each side composed of any even number of persons. Nine innings constitute a game, and the side scoring the most runs wins. Three outs retire a side. If the batter fails to hit any of the three fair balls delivered over the home plate, he is out and the next player in turn bats, if the batter just retiring is not the third out. Four pitched balls that fail to pass over the home plate which the batter has not struck at gives the batter one base. If the bases are all full, it en-v titles each man on bases to advance one base, or if a man is on first base and none on second then the man on first base advances to second base. All others remain as they are. Any'batter knocking the ball over the inclosed field is out. When rolling the ball for the batter to strike at, the ball must be started to roll any place in open space where the pitchers box is located. If not s arted in this space no ball or strike can be called. A foul ball unless accounted for on board, is not considered. The batter must take handle of bat in fingers and strike at pitched ball he considers good. The batter must not let loose of bat when striking, If he purposely twirls the bat at a delivered ball he is out. The board is marked for all other plays.

The game is played as follows: One of the side which is in grasps the bat by the handle 14 thereof and one of the other side, acting as pitcher, rolls the ball, indicated at 32, from the vicinity of the pitchers box, in such manner that it will pass up on the incline 16 and the batter will at this moment attempt to hit the ball to drive it out into the field, the direction of delivery of the ball depending largely on the angle and speed with which the bat strikes the ball 7 and also on the position of the baton its support. In this connection it may be stated that the height of the front end of the incline is suflicient to allow the ball todrop under the bat in case the bat is not held close enough to the upper end of the incline. The control of the place of landing the batted ball is, therefore, a matter of considerable skill and not of mere chance. The ball after leaving the bat, in case it is a fair ball, lands on some portion of thefield and is obstructed in running over the field byv the strips 8 and 9, so as to be brought to rest in one of the pockets 11, whereupon the counter 30 corresponding to the batter is either counted out or is moved to the base indicated by the instructions in the zone. As the game proceeds any man on base, when a fair ball is batted, is subject to advance or to being put out, according to the instructions in the zone in which the ball lands. 7

That I claim is: i

1. A base ball game board provided with marks indicating home plate and bases and pitchers box, with a field portion including said marks, and a bat movably mounted adj acent the home plate, said board being provided with a guideway and said bat being provided with a post slidably and rotatably mounted in said guideway.

2. A base ball game board provided with marks indicating home plate and bases and pitchers box, with a field portion including said marks, and a bat movably mounted adjacent the home plate, said field portion of, the board being provided with obstructing strips crossing one another to form a net work with depressions between said strips for retarding the movement of the balls over the field. i a

8. A base ball game board provided with marks indicating home plate and bases and pitchers box, with a field portion including 7 said marks, and a bat movably mounted ad- In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set jaoent the home plate, said field portion of my hand at Los Angeles, California, this 10 the board beling providedhwighlgbstruoting 12th day of April, 1913.

strips extent ing across t e e orming, T

between said strips, depressions for receiv- BENJAMIN DELGLER' ing the ball and obstructing its motion over In presence of the board, and marks dividing said field ARTHUR P. KNIGHT, portion into zones. MARTHA M. LANGE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

